Tour of CitiField Baseball Stadium

 

                 On Friday, September 24, 2010, 19 Honors College students got a chance to see the ins-and-outs of the New York Mets new home, Citi Field. The students started their tour by walking through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Their tour guide explained that the rotunda was built to honor the great Jackie Robinson and everything he did for baseball. The group was then lead to the press box, where they were able to sit down and experience the view that sports writers have when covering a Mets game.
                 The gorgeous Empire suites were the next stop on the tour.  If you want to watch the game from an unobstructed view, have catered food service, or want to sit and watch the game from an air conditioned room with big, comfy couches, then the Empire suites are for you!  The students were also taken to the Sterling suites, which are the closest suites to the field in all of the MLB.
                  The students were then lead out onto the actual playing field., which was many students favorite part of the tour.  Being able to stand where the New York Mets play baseball 82 games a year is truly an experience. They entered the field from behind home plate and were taken into the dugout. Students were allowed to take a seat on the benches just like the professional players themselves do. After the dugout, the students walked along the outskirts of the field to the Mets bullpen located in centerfield. The newly renovated bullpens were interesting to look at because of all the specific details that were put into it. Things like how the mounds face the exact way the actual mound on the field does, or how they have little air conditioned huts where the relief pitchers can sit and enjoy the game.
                     More behind-the-scenes viewing took place at the media center, where Mets players and coaches talk to the press.  From there the tour went to see the Mets Lounge and Clubhouse, both of which were a sight to see. There were vast lockers with customized chairs and some players even got to have multiple lockers based on seniority.
                      The final part of the tour was the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum. There are so many interesting facts about the Mets and their history displayed there that could keep any fan occupied for days.  It was here the tour ended, and as the students boarded the bus, they waved goodbye to Citi Field as it disappeared in the distance.